NPA poll extortion nets P26 M – AFP

MANILA, Philippines - The amount of money allegedly extorted by communist rebels during the election period has exceeded that of last year, according to data released by the military.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs chief Maj. Ramon Zagala said the New People’s Army (NPA) collected P26 million since the start of the campaign period last February.

The amount is slightly higher than the P25 million reportedly extorted by the rebels from politicians and businesses last year.

Zagala said the P26 million extorted during the election season was much lower than the rebels’ P500-million target.

Citing field reports, Zagala said the extortion money came from individuals and groups from Metro Manila, Isabela, Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, Masbate and Negros Occidental.

The data did not cover the extortion incidents in Cordillera and Eastern Visayas regions reported by the police last week.

While security forces failed to stop the alleged extortion drive of the NPA, Zagala said they have managed to limit the amount given to the rebels.

“Although we did not reduce their collection to zero, the mere fact that they did not reach their target is already a big achievement for our part,” Zagala said.

“We were able to restrict the NPA in their collections and we increased operational tempo, meaning more fieldwork for our intelligence operatives,” he added.

Zagala said they could not blame those who yielded to the NPA’s demands since they were facing threats.

“There are about 4,000 of them (rebels) and they are armed. They stepped up their extortion and some of our countrymen are afraid. We can’t blame them,” he said.

The military previously claimed the insurgents had issued “permits to campaign” and “permits to win” in exchange for cash. Such permits were supposed to provide candidates access to areas heavily influenced by the rebels.

Earlier, the Philippine National Police admitted difficulty in filing cases against politicians who contributed funds to the NPA.

Officials had admitted the field reports on extortion might not stand up in court since nobody saw the actual transfer of money. The rebels also used aliases, making it hard for authorities to make them liable for criminal cases.

Now that the elections are over, security forces are  bracing for possible offensives from the NPA, particularly in the rural areas.

Senior Superintendent Ronald Santos, Deputy Regional Director for Operations in Region-4A, said they have already given orders to their ground forces to be vigilant in case of attacks from the NPA.

“Based on the information given to us by our counterparts in the military, the NPA might attack in Zamboanga and the Bicol region,” Santos said.

Santos, however, could not give any possible motive for the post elections attacks.

Earlier reports said the military and the police were able to flush out the rebels from District 1 and 2 of Batangas, particularly in Nasugbu, Lian, Lemery, Calatagan and Balayan before the May 13 elections.

Despite the peaceful elections, Santos said the police are still monitoring areas in Rizal, Laguna, Quezon and Batangas.  – Arnell Ozaeta